Best of Q. PEN's Larry Siems on a former detainee's eye-opening journal about life in Guantanamo. Celebrity chef Eddie Huang on his memoir "Fresh Off the Boat." Rising Canadian tennis star Rebecca Marino on why she quit the game. Source: cbc.ca

The American sociologist Richard Sennett has had two great themes: the history and design of cities, and the organization of work. As a lover of cities, he has celebrated the expanded sympathy that urban life makes possible; as a student of work, he has criticized the fragmentation of time in the new capitalism; and as a writer, he has elevated sociology to a literary art. He talks with IDEAS producer, David Cayley.

A small re-write of a beloved holiday poem has a lot of creatures stirred up. T'was the night before Christmas, and traditionalists choke at changes that make Santa give up the smokes. A Canadian publisher's attempts to weed out tobacco from Clement Moore's poem has made some readers ashen ... even Santa Claus himself argues it is censorship and political correctness gone wild.

Journalist Paul Hockenos on the future of Hitler's Mein Kampf in Germany. Singer Chris Isaak on his new album, Beyond the Sun. Salon music critic Andrew O'Herir on Hollywood's focus on young viewers, and why it's time to make movies for adults.